The Adventures of the Zito Twins
by Brock's Geodude
Summary: A set of teenage twins, brother and sister, finally get their starter Pokemon. Their parents will finally allow them to start their Pokemon journeys when they graduate high school. What'll happen along the way? (Part 3 up now!)
1. Starting Out

The Adventures of the Zito Twins  
  
-Disclaimer- I don't own the Pokemon franchise or anything like that. My fics are for free entertainment only.  
  
"I can't believe this is finally happening, can you?" seventeen-year-old Karen Zito asked her twin brother, Zack.  
  
"I just can't wait to get started!" Zack replied.The reason for the twins' excitement was their destination. Their hometown was Pewter City, and while many young people they knew had begun Pokemon training at the minimum age of 10, Mr. and Mrs. Zito insisted their children complete high school first. Zack and Karen had both pleaded with their parents, saying that trainers take special correspondence courses while on their journeys, and while their parents understood that, they really wanted their children to have a solid education BEFORE travelling on their own. It wasn't that they were overprotective, they just highly valued education. Their father, John Zito, was an electrician. Their mother, Cindy, was a schoolteacher at Pewter City Elementary. She had taught in the same school her kids had attended, but had asked not to teach any of their classes to avoid accusations of favoritism by the other students. Their parents weren't opposed to Pokemon training either. John had a Magneton that helped him in his work, and Cindy's Jigglypuff got along well with her students. The two had recently agreed to let Zack and Karen have their starter Pokemon early, since they would graduate twelfth grade in just a few months. They did it partially as a gift to their teenage children for keeping their grades up, and partially to stop their constant begging. So now they were in the family sedan, driving down to Pallet Town to meet with Professor Oak.  
  
Karen was an attractive girl whose long, frizzy blond hair was almost always tied back in a ponytail that stuck out from the back of her white Goldenrod City Electabuzz baseball cap. Her favorite pair of purple sunglasses was perched on top of the cap, where they always were when they weren't in front of her eyes. Not having much interest in clothes, she usually just wore a plain t-shirt or tank top tucked into a pair of cutoff jean shorts. She was never seen without that baseball cap, and that was an easy giveaway of her tomboyish nature. She loved sports, especially baseball, and planned to take her favorite glove along with her on her journey when she graduated. She was currently staring out the sedan window, hoping to catch a glimpse of some Pokemon before they reached Pallet.  
  
At an even 6 feet, Zack was about 5 inches taller than his twin sister, but it was easy to see the resemblance between the two. He was also blond, and shared his sister's love of baseball. He didn't share her favorite team though--his black t-shirt bore the logo of the Pewter City Rhydon. He also wore a white baseball cap, but his had been given to him as a surprise gift by his parents the year before. The cap sported what Zack called his "personal logo". His initials, ZZ, were drawn diagonally on the front of the cap, with a lightning bolt zigzagging through them. The whole thing was superimposed over a picture of a baseball. He and Karen were both on their school's baseball team, and his love of working out and weightlifting gave him natural ability as the team's best power hitter, while Karen batted leadoff and played second base. Zack's weight training also rewarded him with a fairly muscular frame, much to the delight of many of the girls at their high school. Despite his physical gifts, when a confrontation arose, he preferred to hang back and think things through before deciding on a course of action.  
  
The twins shared a deep love for Pokemon, and were counting the days until they graduated so they could start their journeys. The fact that most of the rookie trainers they'd come across would be several years younger didn't bother either of them. The tougness and powerful physical attacks of Rock-type Pokemon appealed to Zack, while Karen had long been in love with Grass-types for their beauty and the pleasant smells many of them gave off. Her favorite colors were green and purple, so Grass-types were a perfect fit for that reason as well. Karen was the impetuous one of the two. She was often the first to speak her mind, and it occasionally got her in trouble.  
  
Zack and Karen had studied as much as they could about Pokemon while still in school, and because of that they felt they had a psychological advantage over most of the other rookie trainers. According to them, that was about the only good thing about waiting so long to start their journeys. The agreement that they'd finally reached with their parents for today was their parents would drop them off in Pallet to meet with Professor Oak, and they'd walk back to Pewter on their own, catching whatever Pokemon they could on the way. They had time, since they were just beginning a week's vacation from school. .  
  
By now they had reached Pallet Town, and the car pulled up in front of the long stairway leading up to the famous Professor Oak's estate. "You didn't forget anything did you?" Cindy asked the twins.  
  
"We're fine, Mom," Zack replied. "You checked everything yourself before we left, remember? You can stop worrying now." Zack was a little annoyed, but he knew it was only natural for his mother to worry. Still, he WAS 17 now.  
  
"They'll be fine, Cindy, they can take care of themselves," John reassured his wife from the driver's seat.  
  
The twins thanked their parents, grabbed their backpacks, and got out of the car. When it drove away, Zack turned to Karen. "Ready for this?"  
  
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting eight years! Let's do it." With that she turned to the stairway and took the stairs two at a time, Zack close behind.  
  
Slightly out of breath, but none the worse for their quick ascent, they approached the door to the house together, and Zack knocked. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a young man about Zack's age. His hair was parted in the middle and held in place by a green hairband. He wore a green t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts with three Pokeballs clipped to the belt. Karen, as usual, spoke first. "Hi, I'm Karen Zito and this is my brother, Zack. We're supposed to pick up our starter Pokemon today."  
  
The young man nodded. "Right, nice to meet you two. I'm Tracey Sketchit, we've been expecting you. C'mon in." Tracey led the twins through a short hallway, stopping at a large windowed door. "Go on in, the Professor's waiting for you. I have to go make my rounds." He left, leaving Zack and Karen in front of the door.  
  
Karen took a deep breath. "Well, this is it," she said, opening the door. The first thing they saw was Professor Oak hunched over a computer, with his back to them. Zack cleared his throat, and the sound startled the Professor out of his wits. His arms flew up in the air, causing a few papers to float to the ground. Gathering himself, he picked up the papers and replaced them, then turned around. "Um...you must be Professor Oak," said Karen. The Professor was a white-haired man, apparently in his late fifies or so. He wore a white lab coat over a red golf shirt and khakis.  
  
"I must be," he agreed. "And you must be Karen and Zack Zito. OK, come right over here." He went over to a mechanical, circular platform and pushed a button on its side. Three Pokeballs rose from three holes on the edges of the platform. "So, have you decided who your starter Pokemon will be?" The twins both nodded.  
  
Karen stepped forward and looked over the three Pokeballs. There was a label next to each one that gave the name of the Pokemon it contained. "I love Grass Pokemon, so this was an easy choice," she said, picking one of the Pokeballs. "My starter will be Bulbasaur."  
  
Zack was next. "I love Rock types, but since there are no Rock-type starters, this was a harder choice for me. I finally decided to go with a Pokemon that I know will help me catch Rock-types later, so I choose Squirtle."  
  
"Very well, excellent choices," said Professor Oak. "Now, you each get a Pokedex and five extra Pokeballs." He handed the items to the twins, who excitedly took them. "One more thing too...they've been doing this in the Hoenn region for a while now, and I've just started giving them out here too. Are you going travelling together?" The twins both nodded. "Good. I have a limited supply of these, so I hope you don't mind sharing one." He handed Zack a handheld device that resembled a PDA. "This is a PokeNav. It contains a map of the entire Johto region. You can also use it to keep track of contact information for any other trainers you might meet. When you come in contact with a trainer, as long as he or she has either a PokeNav, a Pokedex, or a PokeGear, his or her contact information will be automatically downloaded to your PokeNav. It has instant-messaging capabilities, and you can use it to send a message ahead to the next Pokemon Center. It also has a section for keeping track of any ribbons your Pokemon win for various things like contests."  
  
The twins thanked the Professor profusely and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing..." he said, and they turned around. "Be very careful when you go through the Viridian Forest. Team Rocket has been spotted around there over the last few days. I strongly suspect they may be up to something. They could be waiting to ambush new trainers and steal their Pokemon."  
  
"Thanks, Professor, we'll be on guard," said Zack. "C'mon Karen, let's go outside and let our new Pokemon out for some fresh air, then we'll start back towards home." Zack didn't mention it, but he was a little worried as well. Two of his cousins back in Pewter had repeatedly gotten in trouble with the law over the years, and a few weeks ago he'd spotted a Team Rocket Grunt near their house. He hoped they weren't mixed up with Team Rocket, but had a feeling they were. 


	2. The Story of the Twins' Cousins

-part 2-  
  
-Disclaimer- I don't own the Pokemon franchise or anything like that. My fics are for free entertainment only.  
  
"This should be easy," said Zack. "According to the PokeNav, if we just head due north, we should reach Viridian City in a couple of days."  
  
Karen nodded and adjusted the shoulder strap on her two-tone green backpack. "Sounds good."  
  
Pallet Town was now far behind them. The twins had been walking north along a well-worn path for the last hour and a half. There were some trees around them, but they weren't nearly as dense as the twins had heard they were in the Viridian Forest. To their right, behind a thin grove of trees, stretched a large, oblong lake that seemed to have been following them for the last little while, since because of the trees, they couldn't see where it ended or began.   
  
Suddenly, a rustling in the bushes to his left caught Zack's attention, and he grabbed his sister's arm. "I think there's a Pokemon back there," he whispered, drawing out Squirtle's Pokeball and enlarging it.  
  
Karen beat him to the punch, tossing her Pokeball first. "Go, Bulbasaur! Zack, if it's in the bushes, it could be a Grass-type. I can't miss this chance!" Zack grudgingly relented, and the young Bulbasaur materialized in front of his sister. As it turned out, their quarry wasn't a Grass-type, but a Caterpie. It crawled out of the bushes and looked questioningly at Bulbasaur. "Hey, awesome!" Karen exclaimed. She took out her Pokedex, flipped it open, and scanned the new arrival, as did Zack. They both wanted their Pokedexes to be as full as possible, and they'd already scanned Bulbasaur and Squirtle.   
  
"Caterpie. The Worm Pokemon," recited the female computerized voice of Karen's Pokedex. To Zack, the voice sounded vaguely like the time-and-temperature lady in their hometown of Pewter City. "It crawls into foliage where it camouflages itself among leaves that are the same color as its body."  
  
"Hmph, good thing it was moving around, otherwise I might've missed it," said Karen, snapping the Pokedex closed.  
  
"Huh?" Zack was puzzled. "I thought you just wanted Grass-types."  
  
"Mostly, yeah," Karen explained, growing excited, "but Caterpie will eventually become Butterfree, one of my favorite Pokemon! I've gotta catch it! Bulbasaur, Tackle attack!" Bulbasaur obediently charged towards the little Bug-type and slammed it into a tree. Caterpie, dazed, managed to counter by shooting a thin strand of a stringy substance from its mouth, wrapping it around Bulbasaur's legs several times. "Oooo, how could I have forgotten about Caterpie's String Shot?" Karen chided herself. Bulbasaur struggled with the string, attempting to extricate itself, but the more it moved, the more it seemed to get stuck. Caterpie took the opportunity to charge in with a Tackle of its own. This backfired on the worm Pokemon, though, since it knocked Bulbasaur free of the string. "All right!" cheered Karen. "Tackle it again, Bulbasaur!" The young Grass-type did so, this time knocking Caterpie onto its back, unmoving. Karen lost no time in whipping out a Pokeball from the front pocket of her backpack, enlarging it, and tossing it. "Pokeball, go!" she cried as the red-and-white ball sailed through the air and opened, its red energy beam absorbing the unconscious Caterpie. The ball closed and landed on the ground. It shook once -- apparently being captured had revived Caterpie enough to struggle a bit -- then stopped as the Pokemon inside allowed itself to submit. Karen triumphantly held up the ball and grinned.  
  
"Good job," Zack congratulated his sister, "Now maybe you should let it out so you can give it a Potion. That battle left it kinda wiped."  
  
"Right," Karen nodded, and did so. She took a small spray battle from another pocket on her backpack and sprayed her new Caterpie with it a few times. After a moment, it revived visibly. "Hey look, Bulbasaur, we've got a new friend now." Bulbasaur approached and greeted Caterpie in Pokemon language. Caterpie responded happily; it seemed content with its new trainer.  
  
***  
  
Later, the large lake from before far behind them, the twins continued on the road to Viridian City. Zack had been silent for some time now, and looked deep in thought.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" asked Karen.  
  
Her brother sighed. "Well, I may as well tell you now, so you can be prepared by the time we hit Viridian Forest."  
  
"Why, what's up?"  
  
"Remember when the Professor mentioned about how Team Rocket might be lurking there?"  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"Well, there's something you need to know. It's about Kyle."  
  
Karen already knew that Kyle had been getting into trouble, so that didn't surprise her. What did, however, was that Zack had apparently been keeping something from her, and judging by his expression, whatever it was apparently bothered him. Unlike most brother-sister combos, but much like most same-gender twins, Zack and Karen were best friends and told each other everything...or so Karen thought. "What?" she said aloud. "Zack, what have you been keeping from me?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Karen...I was just embarrassed about this," Zack replied sincerely. "Let me tell you what happened one day when we were eight, while you were away on that class field trip to the Indigo Plateau..." Zack sighed again, and began the story.  
  
Ten years ago to the day, Zack had made the short trip two blocks down to Kyle's house. Kyle Zito was a cousin of Zack and Karen, a year older than the twins, and they had both played with him and his younger sister Melissa often when the four were in elementary school. Karen had gone with her class on a field trip to the Indigo Plateau, and young Zack wanted someone to play with. After a while, Zack and Kyle decided they wanted some ice cream. They were in the front yard of Kyle's house, so he called a vague excuse to his mother about going for a walk, and they set off.  
  
"That should have made me suspicious, but I trusted Kyle..." said Zack.  
  
"What, you mean his saying he was going for a walk when he actually wanted ice cream? What's wrong with that?" his sister asked.  
  
"I'm getting to that, be patient." Zack picked up the story again where he left off.  
  
Kyle led Zack down to the ABC Ice Cream Shop on the corner. It was 9 AM on Sunday, so Zack was confused because that shop didn't open until 10 o'clock. When he voiced this to Kyle, however, Kyle said that they wouldn't need to go in the store. He led Zack around to the alley next to the store, where a Dumpster was positioned almost directly under a window. Kyle seemed to know that the window was unlocked, since without hesitation, he climbed up on the Dumpster and began to open the window, despite Zack's pleas that it was wrong to do that. When Kyle finally did get the window open and tried to convince Zack to follow him, Zack ran. He didn't want to be caught and accused of helping Kyle when he didn't even want to. He had threatened to tell Kyle's mother, but when he got back to Kyle's house, he just didn't have the courage, because he knew it would mean that Kyle would never speak to him again.  
  
"So you let him get away with theft?" Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing.  
  
"For the moment, yes. But after a while I came to my senses. I didn't want a friend that was a thief. How could I trust him? So I told Aunt Barbara about him."  
  
"You told his mother? Good." Karen was relieved. She never thought Zack would cover for a thief, and now she knew she was right.  
  
"Yeah, but it didn't help much. She made him work to pay off the ice cream he stole, but he never really learned his lesson. I guess that was the start of the trouble he's gotten into recently. I guess his dad being away from home so much doesn't really help."  
  
"Yeah but when you're the Gym Leader of a town that's in the process of being totally rebuilt on another island, it kinda keeps you busy," Zack said dryly. It was true. His uncle and Kyle's father, Blaine Zito, was the Gym Leader of Cinnabar Island...until the whole island was destroyed in that volcanic eruption a few years previously. Now the whole town that had been on that island was being rebuilt on one of the Seafoam Islands, complete with an exact duplicate of his Uncle Blaine's old gym.  
  
"Kyle's had a grudge against me ever since I told on him that day," Zack went on. "Melissa's our age, but she always did look up to Zack. Now I get the feeling she's following him into trouble. Remember that Team Rocket Grunt we saw near their house a while back? Well I'm worried that they've joined Team Rocket and will ambush us when we go into Viridian Forest."  
  
Karen was concerned. "Do you think we should get help from the police?"  
  
"No," her brother replied. The response startled Karen. "The police already know about him and Melissa, but they've never been able to pin anything down on them. Either they don't have enough proof, or Kyle and Melissa manage to escape. I think we're on our own for this one. Besides, if we can't deal with them, how are we going to deal with all the other problems we'll no doubt face on our journeys?"  
  
"You're right, Zack. Kyle and Melissa had better watch out, because if they dare to ambush us, they're up for one heck of a battle!"  
  
"You got it." Zack smiled. His sister seemed more confident than he felt.  
  
"Bonjour, mes amis!" a polite, female French voice suddenly came from behind them. The twins turned around to face a young girl who looked about fifteen, proudly holding up a Pokeball. She had short black hair, and wore jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt.  
  
"Sorry, we don't speak French," Karen apologized, a little embarrassed.  
  
"That's ok," said the girl, suddenly switching to heavily accented English. "I can...how you say...practice English. My name is Monique. I start my journey late because we jus' move in from France. Took me long time to figure out English. Would you like to battle me? I jus' receive my firs' Pokemon a few days ago."  
  
"Sure, I'll battle you. I could use the experience," said Zack. "I'm Zack, and this is my sister, Karen."  
  
"Hi, Monique!" Karen greeted the girl. "Tell you what, I'll ref the first match between you and Zack, I'll battle you and Zack can be the ref. Are you up for two battles in a row?"  
  
"Sure!" said Monique happily. She moved over to one side of the wide path, and Zack took the other. Karen stood between them, but several feet farther up the path.   
  
Karen raised one arm straight up, then pointed it at the spot between the two opponents. "Let the match begin!" she cried. 


	3. A New Friend and Rival

-part 3-  
  
"I may have jus' receive my starter Pokemon, but I jus' catch another one too, that is why I agree to two battles," Monique explained. She enlarged a Pokeball and quickly kissed it before cocking her arm to toss it. "Salameche, allons-y!"  
  
'Did she say SALAMENCE?' Zack thought, worriedly. 'How could she get a Salamence so soon?' He'd heard of the Hoenn-native Dragon Pokemon, but had never seen one in person. However, what materialized from the Pokeball wasn't a Salamence, but a Charmander.  
  
Noticing Zack's confusion, Monique apologized. "Oh, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting I have to battle in English now. Salameche is French name for Charmander." Her Charmander struck a cute pose, flexing its arm muscles.  
  
Zack smiled and pulled out his own Pokeball. "Well, you're in for a tough fight, cause Squirtle, I choose you!" With an enthusiastic shout, the blue turtle Pokemon emerged, ready to battle. "OK Squirtle, this shouldn't be too hard, but don't get overconfident. We don't know what Monique has planned. Now start off with your Water Gun!" Squirtle obediently took a deep breath and shot a jet of water out of its mouth.  
  
"Salameche, use Double Team!" ordered Monique. Before the stream of water could reach the little Fire-type, it seemed to split into many copies that surrounded Squirtle. Confused, the turtle Pokemon looked around, not sure what to do, while Charmander continued to create its illusionary copies.  
  
'Wow, I wasn't expecting a Double Team from another beginning trainer.' Zack thought. Aloud he said, "Squirtle, you've gotta concentrate! Charmander's counting on you to get confused and give it the chance to attack! If you concentrate hard enough, you can find the real Charmander!" Squirtle closed its eyes and focused all its energy on trying to track Charmander's lightning quick movements to keep the Double Team going. After a moment, it was successful. Opening its eyes again, it shot a full-force Water Gun at one of the clones, who just happened to be standing right in front of Monique. The girl saw the attack coming and twisted away just in time to avoid the spray, as the real Charmander was hit by the water.  
  
"Charmander, we can still win this! Try your Scratch attack!" Monique cried. Finally managing to dive free of the Water Gun, Charmander rolled, got to its feet, and raised a paw, poised for a Scratch...then fainted. The hard, continuous stream of water had proven too much for the little Fire-type, and it simply didn't have the energy to attack.   
  
"Charmander is unable to battle. Squirtle is the winner!" Karen announced.  
  
Zack ran up to congratulate Squirtle. "Wow, Squirtle, you did a great job! You focused and saw through that Double Team like a real pro!" Squirtle made a happy exclamation in response. Monique reassured her fallen Charmander in French that it had done a good job, then recalled it. "Monique, how'd you teach Double Team to your Charmander so quickly? I know not many rookie trainers have a move like that on their Pokemon, I sure don't."  
  
"Mon pere...I mean, my father gave it to me as gift before I leave on my journey," Monique responded.  
  
"Wow, that was a nice gift. TMs like that are expensive."  
  
"Yes...and I appreciate what he did for me. So, Karen, are you ready for our battle now?"  
  
"Sure thing!" Karen replied. "But I hope you aren't going to use Charmander, it looked like it could use a rest."  
  
"No...I DID say I caught two Pokemon." Monique smiled.  
  
"All right then, let's get to it!" said Karen. She traded places with her brother, with Zack serving as the referee for this match. When they were in position, Karen pulled out a Pokeball. "It's my turn to make the first move now, so Caterpie, come on out!"  
  
Watching the Bug-type materialize, Monique shook her head in amusement. "This is a...what is English word...coincidence. Your new Bug Pokemon against mine. Don't worry, I don't call this one by its French name. I am trying to get used to English names." She pulled another Pokeball from her pocket and tossed it. "Weedle, allons-y!"  
  
"A Weedle, huh?" said Karen. "This should be interesting."  
  
"OK, Weedle, start with Poison Sting!" Monique exclaimed.  
  
"Ha! Not so fast!" Karen retorted. "Caterpie, wrap up its stinger with your String Shot!"  
  
Weedle lowered its head and began firing little poison pins from its stinger. Caterpie dodged a few of them, faked left, then shot a sticky string from its mouth that quickly wrapped around the opponent's stinger.  
  
"Quoi...?" Monique was surprised, she didn't see that one coming. Weedle's best attack was now effectively neutralized.  
  
"Caterpie, Tackle attack!"  
  
"Ah...Weedle, try your own String Shot!" Off-balance from the ball of string on its head, Weedle struggled to take aim at the charging Caterpie, but couldn't focus. Caterpie knocked into it with a Tackle, sending it reeling. "Weedle! Peut-tu batailler?" asked Monique, wondering if it could still battle. The little Bug/Poison type struggled to right itself and shake off the string. "That's it Weedle, you can do it! Try Poison Sting again!" Weedle tried to aim its stinger at Caterpie again, but some of the string was still stuck on it. It fired off a few pins, which Caterpie easily dodged.  
  
"Caterpie, one more Tackle should do it!" Karen encouraged. Caterpie obediently charged in again, knocking Weedle back to land at Monique's feet. This time, it didn't try to get up.  
  
Zack whistled, earning a jealous glance from Karen who, despite her best efforts, was never able to do it. He pointed to Weedle, palm out, with his left hand, and then pointed his right index finger at Caterpie. "Weedle is unable to battle. Caterpie wins!"  
  
"This was a great job for your first match, Weedle. I am proud of you. Return." Monique recalled the little Bug/Poison type.   
  
Karen had similar congratulations for Caterpie, except hers were more celebratory. She held the worm Pokemon up triumphantly and spun around. "We won our first match against another trainer!" She was quickly interrupted though, by Monique standing seriously in front of her and Zack.  
  
Monique spoke slowly, obviously trying hard to find the right English words to express herself. "I understand now that there are many trainers out there more skillful than me. I thank you for this experience. You taught me the importance of training hard and loving your Pokemon as friends." The twins thanked the girl for the match, and the three shook hands. "I should go now," said Monique. "I want to heal my Pokemon and then train some more in the forest here. I hope I see you again sometime."  
  
"Hey, maybe we can do more than just hope," said Karen, who suddenly remembered something. "Zack, didn't Professor Oak say that our PokeNav records information about trainers we meet?"  
  
"Right, said Zack, unzipping a pocket of his backpack and pulling out the device. "Monique, you wouldn't happen to have one of these too, do you?"  
  
"Ah, oui," said the French girl, producing one from her jeans pocket. Zack and Monique clicked the devices on. They instantly made a wireless connection, and exchanged the required information.  
  
"There," said Zack. "We're added to each other's address books. Now we can keep in contact."  
  
"Sure, I like making new friends," agreed Monique.  
  
So with that, the twins said their goodbyes to their new friend, and continued on. Karen was still excited over winning her first match with Caterpie. She knew that Caterpie evolved quickly, and hoped that hers would soon. She really wanted it to reach its full potential, and as she had mentioned, Butterfree was one of her favorite Pokemon. Zack was proud of his Squirtle's performance as well, but they were getting close to Viridian City now, and the closer they drew, the more worried he became about what Team Rocket might have in store for them in the Viridian Forest. If he only knew... 


	4. Into Viridan Forest, Almost

-part 4-  
  
Zack and Karen's visit to the Pokemon Center, located in downtown Viridian City, was uneventful. They healed their Pokemon there, left the city limits, and were just now approaching the outskirts of the Viridian Forest. They were anxious, nervous, and excited at the same time. They were dying for adventures with their Pokemon, but unsure as to how much danger an attack from Team Rocket would actually pose. Still, as Zack had said earlier, they're sure to deal with a lot of danger and problems on their journey, so if they couldn't get past this, they would have no chance of making it the rest of the way.  
  
So they marched on, backpacks strapped on both shoulders and caps pulled low to avoid the sun, which was right in front of them. Karen had taken her purple sunglasses down off her cap and put them on, and Zack was kicking himself for not thinking to buy any sunglasses of his own while they were still in the city. His cap would have to make do for now. Suddenly, Karen stopped in her tracks and put out an arm to stop Zack. "Do you hear something?" she asked her twin brother.  
  
Zack stopped, and both stood stock-still as they listened. "Yeah, it kind of sounds like a rumbling...like..."  
  
With her sunglasses on, Karen had a better view of the road ahead. "Like an Onix charging right this way? Cause that's what it is!" Sure enough, the giant Rock Snake Pokemon known as Onix was charging up the path, straight for them, getting closer by the second and moving surprisingly fast. Zack and Karen were on a fairly narrow section of the path leading deeper into the forest, with a thick grove of trees on each side. The way ahead was somewhat clearer, with a fairly wide grassy area on each side, surrounded by more trees. The twins didn't have time to run ahead there and get off the path, so they only had one choice. "Into the trees!" Karen shouted. The twins dove into the trees, getting a few scratches on their arms and faces in the process. Turns out they were just in time, as the Onix lumbered past with seconds to spare.   
  
Zack took a deep breath. "Wow, what was that all about?" he asked nobody in particular as he climbed out of the trees to watch the Onix continue on. Since he was looking in the other direction now, the sun was no longer in his eyes, so he could clearly see the remnants of a net dangling off the back of Onix's tail. "Hey, Karen, look! I think that Onix just escaped being captured by Team Rocket!" Zack had heard about how Team Rocket used unorthodox, even cruel, methods sometimes to catch Pokemon, instead of the standard and legal method of weakening them first and tossing Pokeballs.  
  
"That's not all, Zack..." added Karen, a little scared. "Have you noticed how it hasn't stopped? It must be terrified, and it's heading right for the city!" Sure enough, the giant Rock-type continued on a straight path as if it was fleeing, not caring what or who got in its way. A wild Weedle and Rattata were barely able to escape its path in time. "We've gotta stop it before it hurts someone!"  
  
"C'mon, let's go!" agreed Zack. There was no time to get the police or anyone. There were only minutes to spare. Zack and Karen had to do this alone. Zack had another reason for wanting to help, as well. He wanted to make sure nobody was hurt just as much as Karen or anyone else did, but Rock Pokemon were his favorite type. If one was scared, he was determined to do everything he could to help it. He could tell that this one was practically crying for help, and considering the situation, the best way to help it might end up being to battle it and capture it. Then he could make sure nobody would ever steal it again. All those thoughts were going through his mind as he and Karen raced back along the path, retracing their steps towards Viridian City.  
  
But they weren't closing the gap. They were both trained athletes and were members of their school's baseball team all the years they had been in school, but they could gain no ground on this Onix. "We'll have to distract it, Karen!" Zack said as he ran, yanking the lone Pokeball on his belt off the Velcro strip. A few moments more, and the Onix would reach city limits.  
  
"Right," said Karen, producing Bulbasaur's Pokeball from her pocket. Ordinarily, they wouldn't pit both their Pokemon against a wild one by itself, but this was an emergency situation. "Go, Bulbasaur!"  
  
"Go, Squirtle! C'mon out and use Water Gun at full power!"  
  
"Bulbasaur, strike at it with Vine Whip!"  
  
Almost simultaneously, the two starter Pokemon emerged from their balls and began their attacks. Squirtle took a deep breath and shot a thick stream of water at the back of Onix's head. Bulbasaur whipped out its vines and used them to lash at Onix's midsection. Onix roared in pain mixed with anger and turned around to face its attackers. It whipped its tail around at all four of them, both Pokemon and humans. Zack, Karen, and Bulbasaur managed to dive out of the way just in time, but the top of one of the rocks on Onix's tail clipped Squirtle's feet as it leapt, sending the turtle Pokemon spinning in midair. It withdrew into its shell and landed, emerging again dazed but apparently ok. Onix looked very near collapse from its escape and the supereffective attacks, but it was still enraged.  
  
"Onix, stop this!" Zack yelled from his position, sprawled on the ground. He now had a few more scrapes to add to the ones he had gotten from his little swan dive into the trees back on the path. "I know those people treated you badly, but I want to help! We had to have both of our Pokemon attack you at once to keep you out of the city! If you kept that up, who knows how many Pokemon or people would be caught in your path? I want to help you!" The giant rock snake paused, and stood in front of them with tail raised, as if deciding whether or not to attack again. After a few tense moments, it slowly lowered its tail to the ground. The twins climbed to their feet, still a little nervous. "That's the way," Zack encouraged the Pokemon. "Would you like to come along with me on my journey, Onix? I promise you, nobody will ever capture you while I'm around." Onix grunted. "D-does that mean yes?" Zack asked, a little uncertainly. He pulled an empty Pokeball from his backpack. "Well, here goes nothing." Enlarging it and tossing it, he called, "Pokeball, go!" The red-and-white ball sailed through the air, and opened to reveal its red transparent beam. The beam shot out and enveloped the Rock-Ground type, withdrawing it back inside the ball, leaving the net fragment that was dangling from its tail lying on the ground. The ball closed and dropped to the ground, shook once, twice, three times...then lay still.  
  
Zack excitedly ran up and snatched it. "I caught an Onix!" he cried happily.   
  
"Great job, Zack. I was a little nervous there for a while. You seemed to get through to it somehow," said Karen, coming up behind her brother and putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah...I was pretty nervous too. I thought for sure it was going to attack again. But hey, we had Bulbasaur AND Squirtle, we would've been fine." Zack grinned.  
  
"Hey, we should probably take it back to the Pokemon Center," said Karen. "It looked exhausted."  
  
"True," said Zack, picking up the piece of net, "and maybe while we're there it might be wise to ask Nurse Joy if she has heard anything about Team Rocket being in the area. We should've done it before, but I guess we were too excited about getting into the Forest ourselves and heading for adventure."  
  
Karen laughed, a little embarrassed. "Yeah, probably," she agreed. Up until now, she had been the more talkative one as to what might happen in the Forest, while Zack had kept his thoughts to himself for the most part. Karen thought it may have been partially her fault for distracting Zack with her excitement, and not letting him think of the possibility of something serious happening. Still, the twins were determined to continue on their own, so they headed back to the Pokemon Center to see if they could find out anything useful.  
  
"Karen..." Zack said slowly as they walked quickly back towards the city. "Do you think Kyle and Melissa could be mixed up in this somehow?"  
  
Karen sighed. "I hope not...but let's face it, we pretty much know they're in Team Rocket now, so there's a good chance that they are mixed up in this, or at least know about it."  
  
"Yeah," Zack sighed, "that's what I was thinking, too." Both were saddened at the possibility of their cousins being involved in such a thing as illegally capturing Pokemon, possibly harming them unnecessarily in the process to force them to obey. "I have to wonder...are Kyle and Melissa in this of their own free will?"  
  
"So far, we really have no way of knowing," Karen admitted. 


End file.
